Ignition
by nojohi
Summary: AU, based on a Tumblr prompt. Calypso's been stood up again, but an unusual suspect comes to her rescue.


She had known almost from the outset how this date (and this relationship) was going to turn out (AKA, it wasn't) but Calypso hadn't been able to help it.

Staring at the melting ice in her fancy crystal glass of water, she wished her own heart didn't melt just as easily. She wished that she could stop falling for men who's hearts were somewhere far away. She wished, at the least, that she could have the ability to not care after it was all said and done.

The ice kept melting.

Tearing her eyes from it, Calypso shot a tentative glance around the upscale restaurant. The wine-colored carpet was plush enough to make her glad she'd chosen gold sandals over heels. The lacy table cloths were white enough to make her thankful she wasn't old enough to drink. But the empty seat across from her made her regret coming at all.

Smoothing the skirt of her Greek-style crimson dress, she checked her phone again, her heart sputtering with one last tiny burst of hope, but there were no new messages. The hope guttered out. She tucked the phone into her gold clutch and nervously pulled her elaborately braided caramel hair over one shoulder. A waiter appeared, wearing an expression of polite sympathy to match his crisp white shirt and black bowtie.

"Ready to order?"

It would have been easy to say yes, or simply tell him that she wouldn't be needing the table after all, but instead Calypso raised her chin and said proudly "Just a few more minutes, please."

"Of course." The waiter replied with a slight nod, the sympathy in his eyes tightening to pity. He glided away smoothly, and Calypso picked up her water glass with a shaking hand and took a tiny sip. She could tell that other diners around the restaurant where putting on their own masks of pity for her, some of them even gossiping to each other in whispers.

Calypso set the glass down, heart cracking as the last cube of ice clinked musically against the side.

He wasn't coming. She'd never had a chance, because after all, she was just a stop on his way back to his ex-girlfriend. It was all she had ever been, to anyone—a warm place to rest for a little while before continuing the journey to true love.

She felt a tear forming in her eye and blinked, trying not to smear her mascara. Every relationship she'd had had ended this way, so it wasn't as if it was unexpected. This time, though, Calypso decided, would be the last time. The heart that had been open for business all her life was now closing, permanently.

Blinking away another blurry tear, she snapped her clutch shut and pushed back her chair. Before she could stand up, however, a shape appeared in front of her. She squinted through her watery vision, confused. It wasn't the waiter, and it wasn't him, either. The young man in front of her had browned skin, a head of wild, dark curls, glittering dark eyes, and impish features.

"Hey, Sunshine, sorry I'm late, traffic was murder." he said, sliding into the chair opposite her. He had a voice reminiscent of gears whirring and fire crackling.

Calypso's vision finally cleared. "What-" she began indignantly, but he leaned forward quickly, mouth crooking into a nervous grin, and whispered "I'm Leo. Just go with it. Don't think."

Annoyance rumbled in her chest so loudly that she forgot about her broken heart.

"Are you _insane?_ " She whispered back, scrutinizing the presumptuous stranger further. He was wearing suspenders, which would have made for an endearing classical look—except for the fact that they were very worn and obviously very old. There was a smudge of what looked like grease or soot on his cheekbone, and his lithe hands seemed to constantly be in motion, shuffling around the edge of the table, fingers tapping odd little beats.

Leo grinned again. "I'm slightly nuts." He admitted. "But come on."

He turned towards the waiter, who, noticing that Calypso was no longer alone, was bearing down on them, having replaced the look of pity with a mixture of skepticism and interest.

"Ready to order now?" He asked, one eyebrow ever-so-slightly raised. That little sign of disbelief did it.

"Yes," Calypso said, her chin jutting out once again "We are." Leo grinned at her, his brown eyes dancing almost as much as his fingers.

"Have whatever you like, Sunshine, since tonight's on me." Calypso looked away from those sparkling eyes quickly and picked up the menu.

"I'll have the kampunata dish." She said. "And sparkling water. Leo?"

Leo looked suddenly intimidated. "Uh, the same." he said. "Minus the water. Do you have any coke?" Calypso felt her face flush with embarrassment. Coke, at a restaurant this nice!

But the waiter only nodded, any dubiousness he felt quickly hidden.

"I will have your meal out soon." he said, and glided away again after taking their folded menus.

Calypso picked up her water glass again, avoiding a look at Leo. Leo kept drumming his fingers on the table. Finally he burst out

"So...how was your day...and stuff?"

Calypso shot him a glance that she hoped was cold. This odd stranger was the opposite of anyone she'd ever fallen for before, and it felt like a curse to be stuck with him just when she had decided to lock up her heart and throw away the key.

And yet...there was, undeniably, a spirit of nobility and kindness dwelling within this crazy, ADHD imp of a boy. She felt her expression soften a bit involuntarily.

The men that she fell for looked noble, and heroic, and beautiful in a way that made it impossible for her to resist.

Leo looked small, and mischievous, and rather grimy, but he had acted more nobly and heroically than any of them.

His bright, energy-filled voice broke through her thoughts.

"You're kinda staring at me...there something on my face?"

Calypso frowned. He was, after all, still annoying. "Yes, in fact, there is." She said haughtily.

"Really? Where?" He raised a hand to feel his face, as if that would help.

"Here." She said in frustration, leaning forward to pull his hand away, and before she realized what she was doing, she had pulled the cloth napkin away from her silverware, dipped the corner in her water glass, and used it to clean the grease-smudge from his cheek.

Leo stared at her, a little wide-eyed. Calypso quickly dropped his hand, which she was still holding, and pulled back, crumpling the napkin in her fist.

"There. It's gone now." She said stiffly, eyes roving aimlessly around the restaurant as she folded her hands in her lap.

"Thanks." Leo said. There was a long silence. Then he burst out "So, since you're obviously not in a sharing mood, I'll tell you about my day. It started with this mechanical dragon..." and he launched into a jittery, slightly nonsensical ramble that Calypso allowed to continue uninterrupted until the food arrived.

Leo looked relieved. Calypso smiled to herself slightly—she could tell that lengthy conversation wasn't exactly in his comfort zone.

When the waiter had left, Leo dug his fork in and took a large bite of the kampunata. His eyes went wide again.

"Wow, this is good. What is it?" Calypso laughed, and the feeling jolted her chest like an electric shock bringing her heart back to life.

"It's a Maltese dish," she said. "I used to live on Malta." And with that, the tension broke suddenly. They talked (although about what, Calypso wasn't even sure) until the meal was over, and then kept talking as they left the restaurant together. Finally, as they stood on the sidewalk outside, silence fell again. Leo's fingers were still tapping odds rhythms against his thigh. They stared at each other for a beat, and then Calypso said "My car is over here."

"Right. Might as well be a gentleman and walk you there." He followed her down the block to where her car was parked at a meter. Calypso unlocked and opened the door, then turned.

"Goodnight, Leo. And...thank you."

"Goodnight, Sunshine." Leo said with an awkward grin, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Quickly, before the lamplight reflecting off his flickery brown eyes could trick her heart into yet another fall, Calypso got in the car and put the key in the ignition.

It wouldn't start. She yelped in frustration, then glanced up to see Leo peering in the window. She opened the door.

"Won't start?" he asked. She nodded. "Pop the hood. Lemme take a look." She did as he said and climbed out of the driver's seat, following him around to the front.

"Hmm." Leo narrowed his eyes at the engine, then unexpectedly pulled a flashlight and a wrench out of his pocket and handed the flashlight to her. "Hold this." She flicked it on and pointed the beam into the hood of the car.

Leo's fingers flew through the machinery, and suddenly, Calypso smiled. She could see now for what those dancing, tapping, nimble fingers were made.

"Here." Leo said, handing her the wrench and a screw of some sort. She took them, then balanced the flashlight on the edge of the car and leaned forward to help him, intuitively working in unison with his tinkering.

After ten minutes, they both stood up, and Leo closed the hood, dusting his hands on the front of his shirt. Calypso handed the flashlight and wrench back to him, noticing that he had new smears on his face.

Once again, they stood staring at each other. Leo smelled like machine oil, and Calypso was startled by how much she liked that.

"So." He said at last. "I know this was like, a fake date and stuff, and maybe your boyfriend really did get stuck in traffic, but would you, uh, would you go out with me for real? You can say no." He said in a rush. "I know it's really weird, and random, and I don't wanna freak you out, it's just I think I might like you, and-" Calypso cupped her hands around his face and kissed him, bumping his nose with hers, her thumbs tracing his cheekbones. When she let him go, he looked like a clock whose gears had smashed to a stop.

"You had something on your face." she said, blood roaring in her ears.

Leo swallowed hard. "Okay." his voice was croaky.

Hand shaking, Calypso dug a pen out of her clutch, took his arm, and wrote her number on it. Then she got into her car, shutting the door but rolling down the window. She glanced over her shoulder one last time as she drove away, and she thought she heard Leo say "I'm gonna call you. I swear."

Turning her eyes back to the road, Calypso took a deep breath. For once, it seemed, her wish had come true.

Her heart hadn't melted—it was on fire.


End file.
